Network toxicology and molecular docking elucidate the hepatotoxic and carcinogenic mechanisms of potassium sorbate validated by in vitro assays

Potassium sorbate is a preservative widely used in various industrial products, and its potential toxicity and environmental risks are worthy of further exploration. This study provides a novel elucidation of the ecological toxicity mechanism of potassium sorbate, supported by in vitro cell model validation, thereby offering system-level to molecular-level analysis for the risk assessment and management of food additives. A total of 124 and 106 potential targets for hepatotoxicity and carcinogenicity were identified, respectively, and protein-protein interaction networks and Cytoscape were used to determine the hub genes associated with the toxicity of potassium sorbate. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the pathways induced by potassium sorbate were associated with cancer-related chemicals and pathways. Molecular docking results showed that potassium sorbate had high degree of affinity with the hub targets, which, combined with in vitro cell line validation, further supported the mechanism of action of potassium sorbate in the regulation of hepatocyte injury, tumor cell proliferation, and apoptosis. This study provides a novel perspective on the toxicity of potassium sorbate, and offers a theoretical basis for its safety assessment and risk management in clinical applications.